Tom Shitamachi

Memory of the passionate battle of Hakone Ekiden

How did you spend this year on New Year's Day?
From the viewpoint of infection prevention, many people may have spent their time at home after returning home or traveling.

I think that many of such "Home Gumi" watched TV at "Hakone Ekiden" held from January 2 to 3. This time it was a dramatic end of a major reversal in the last section, but there were dramas on each way, and you may have seen it while being excited and harassed.

The scene where players cross [Nihonbashi] with a "road mark" just before the goal can be said to be the final climax. I think Nihonbashi, the starting point of the Tokaido, is a meaningful place to wait for the players who came back from Hakone, which was called "Tenka no Ken".

The current departure and goal point is in front of the Yomiuri Shimbun headquarters in Otemachi, but the company once had its headquarters in Ginza for a long time, and Ginza was the departure and goal point from the 25th to the 47th. (Before that, in front of Yurakucho and Hochi Shimbun at that time) Chuo-ku has greatly contributed to the history of Ekiden.

Memory of the passionate battle of Hakone Ekiden

The location of [Yomiuri Ginza Building] where [Marronnier Gate Ginza] currently resides is where the Yomiuri Shimbun headquarters used to be. There is a nameplate on the wall of the building that describes it quietly.

In the past, there were the Asahi Shimbun and Hochi Shimbun in this area, as well as several publishers and news organizations, and the area around Ginza was also a "city of journalism." Perhaps the advanced and international atmosphere since the Meiji era has attracted the source of knowledge.

By the way, the Yomiuri Shimbun once returned to Ginza during the rebuilding of the headquarters building in Otemachi (2010-2014). This is where the headquarters of Nissan Motor once lived [Ginza 6-chome - SQUARE]. If you pass in front of it now, it is surrounded by a fence, and it seems to be redeveloped.

The town of Tokyo is changing every day, but I just want to cherish the memories embedded here and there in the alleys.